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ABOUT ME:
Gay Puerto Rican, 42 years old, fully bilingual, bicultural, master's degree in counseling, professional spanish interpreter with training and required certifications (at least from Massachusetts). I receive interpretation work assignments for the Department of Children and Families, Department of Transitional Assistance (welfare), Department of Public Health (substance abuse programs), Department of Mental Health (psych hospitals), school districts, healthcare, etc. It's a high demand job in Boston and can't complain about that.
I have been living in the states for 12 years.... 5 in Orlando, and the past 7 in Boston. I never liked Orlando for many reasons... too sprawled, one spends half of one's life driving, dumb conservative tendency, low salaries, the heat is worst than in the Caribbean, etc. I was living there with my ex-partner and when we broke up, I saw it as the ideal time to run from that swamp to a real city.
So I chose to Boston because it's compact, liberal, educated, walkable, public transit is reliable most of the times and covers most of the area, low unemployment, better gay scene than Orlando, etc. When I mention Boston, I'm referring exclusively to the city, not the suburbs. I live in one of the most beautiful historic neighborhoods of the city.
So now I find myself in a love-hate relationship with Boston thinking of moving out. Some of the reasons are:
1) Racial disproportion... 44% is white (non Hispanic or Latino), 25% Black or African-American, 17% Latino, 10% Asian, other races are less than 10%.
2) The majority of Latinos in the city of Boston are VERY poor with low educational attainment. They live from welfare or work long hours in low skills service jobs. Most of them are concentrated in certain neighborhoods (Dorchester, Roxbury, East Boston) out of the historic and beautiful part of the city. So segregated residentially!
4) The gay parade is like a corporate rally instead of a pride celebration. So boring and bland. The City of Providence in Rhode Island does it so beautiful, illuminated at night, with so colorful floats... and NYC is fabulous.
5) Gay bars are closing. There have been many changes for the worst in gay nightlife. I don't go out as often as before because I feel that I'm not missing anything.
6) Bostonians are cold. People don't make eye contact. Well, it's understandable from a major city, but even in my small gentrified neighborhood most people do the same.
7) Boston is a small town with superiority complex.
I love the sitcome Blackish. Do you know why? Because it portrays a black family as middle class, professional, educated, and out of the typical stereotypes of poverty, low schooling, and low skills jobs. That's the common stereotype I find in Boston with Latinos. Could it be possible that I find something different in that aspect in Jersey City?
Ok... enough rant.
I am considering Jersey City because I can work almost anywhere as an interpreter. According to the Census, Jersey City is pretty proportionate racially. However, I don't know if there is racial tension despite of that. It's just across the river from NYC. Cheaper than Boston. It's walkable, 44% of the residents have college degree (according to the Census), winters are cold, but not as brutal as Boston. It seems to have a decent public transit system.
Basically, I'm looking for a city similar to Boston without the superiority complex, warmer people, no racial disproportion, better gay scene, and where Latinos are not so poor. Is that Jersey City? Am I unrealistic?
I sincerely appreciate comments, feedback and constructive criticism.
I live in the Journal Square neighborhood of Jersey City. It's extremely diverse, but still slightly segregated just because of income levels. The downtown areas near Grove St, Exchange Pl, and Newport PATH stations are very wealthy and trend white/Asian/Indian. Journal Square is heavily Indian, but there are numerous other ethnic restaurants and stores like a Latin grocery store, Filipino restaurants, some great taquerias, etc. You may not find the heavy Latin influence you're looking for right in Jersey City itself, but it's a small footprint of a city within Hudson County which is a small county. However, it's a very densely populated county and north of JC has very strong Latino influences especially with the Puerto Rican, Dominican, and Cuban populations. Cities like Union City, West New York, and North Bergen are mostly Latino. They're not wealthy, but working class and middle-class in some parts.
PATH runs 24/7/365 into Manhattan. So if you live within distance of a PATH station, you can be to Manhattan any time of day you want. Whereas someone living off a New Jersey Transit line deeper in Jersey, or off the LIRR in Long Island, or off Metro North anywhere north of the city have to plan out coming home later at night because of infrequent service, I can stay out till whenever I want and get home easily. It takes longer to go to JC than other parts of the city because of PATH, and Lyft/Uber gets expensive because of the tunnel tolls, but PATH is perfectly fine at night. I take it home every weekend I go out without issue.
Jersey City itself doesn't have that many gay bars, but virtually every place near Grove St Station like on Grove St and Newark Ave is gay friendly. Many of the bars/restaurants have gay flags flying even if they're not actually gay bars. There are two officially gay bars, though. Pint and 626. I'm white, but I have never noticed any racially biased profiles against Latinos in Hudson County. If anything, it's a preference. And the large Latino population makes it easy to date another educated, professional Latino. The gay professionals in Jersey City are often highly educated. In other parts of Hudson County, you may find the more working class Latinos, but it doesn't seem common to find someone in Union City or West New York that's impoverished. It's really nothing fancy at all up there, but it's a solid, safe, immigrant-heavy community and I've been dying to explore the food scene up there a bit more. I'd consider living up there one day as well since homes are more affordable and it's not suburban.
If you have any more personal questions, feel free to DM me. I'm a white gay male in JC that loves Latin culture so I can help.
JC is great but I think if you're really looking for walkable and diverse Brooklyn is ticking all the boxes as well and has the benefit of only being a monthly Metrocard away from everything in Manhattan. It's more the late nights where you just want to cab it home where living in NJ is going to make it a hassle.
That said, Brooklyn costs will increase more than JC, it's a tradeoff of commute time vs. money, like usual. But I think everyone should live in NY if they can, especially someone who says "When I mention Boston, I'm referring exclusively to the city" JC is a city in it's own right but it's not New York City, and if you're not impressed by, say, Arlington, JC isn't going to be impressive.
JC is great but I think if you're really looking for walkable and diverse Brooklyn is ticking all the boxes as well and has the benefit of only being a monthly Metrocard away from everything in Manhattan. It's more the late nights where you just want to cab it home where living in NJ is going to make it a hassle.
I would have to disagree with you on that point. It is actually much more convenient to commute from JC into Manhattan than to commute in from most parts of Brooklyn. Just to give you an example, I used to live in downtown JC and commuted to 23rd St. in Manhattan. It was a 5-minute walk to Path, 12 minute Path ride, and then 5 more minutes walking to my office. The guy that sat next to me at the office lived in Brooklyn and he said his subway ride was 1-hour each way to his neighborhood in Brooklyn. Path runs 24/7 so late nights are not an issue. And JC is just a short Uber ride away if you'd rather go that route.
With that said, Brooklyn probably has more to offer in terms of nightlife. When I lived in downtown JC it was fairly dead at night, but I think there has been an uptick in nightlife in recent years.
That's Tuesday-Thursday service that you linked to. And they're 45 minutes. Weekend nights it's 35 minutes. I'm honestly used to it at this point. I've only taken a Lyft home lat night twice because I had friends to share it with and the weather was horrible. But almost every weekend I do PATH alone back to JC. If you're commuting to Manhattan, JC can often be a quicker ride than most parts of outer boroughs or even parts of Manhattan.
If anything, I sometimes take a Lyft to a PATH station to avoid bad weather, but save costs on going through the tunnels. But commutes are short, JC is basically an extension of Manhattan and is very urban and walkable. Not comparable to Arlington. It's much more of a real city vibe. And you get more for your money if that's a consideration. You can't put a price tag on having a physical address in NYC, and I'll do it eventually I know it, but there's nothing wrong with JC. You don't miss out on anything happening in Manhattan or Brooklyn. And let's not pretend that Manhattanites are so ready to leave Manhattan either lol they'll regularly complain about going to Brooklyn for literally anything. It's easy for them to get there, they just don't want to. It's a little more challenging from JC, but it's still doable if you want to.
I believe your point #2 about Latinos being poorer will hold true in JC also. There are neighborhoods that are not close to gentrifying.
I agree that Brooklyn would be a better move for you.
Have you considered Atlanta? Or Austin?
I was going to ask if you'd consider JC: Cambridge :: New York : Boston but then I remembered that Boston is only double the population of JC and comparing it to a city of 8 million didn't hold up.
I have been living in the states for 12 years.... 5 in Orlando, and the past 7 in Boston. I never liked Orlando for many reasons... too sprawled, one spends half of one's life driving, dumb conservative tendency, low salaries, the heat is worst than in the Caribbean, etc. I was living there with my ex-partner and when we broke up, I saw it as the ideal time to run from that swamp to a real city.
So I chose to Boston because it's compact, liberal, educated, walkable, public transit is reliable most of the times and covers most of the area, low unemployment, better gay scene than Orlando, etc. When I mention Boston, I'm referring exclusively to the city, not the suburbs. I live in one of the most beautiful historic neighborhoods of the city.
I am considering Jersey City because I can work almost anywhere as an interpreter. According to the Census, Jersey City is pretty proportionate racially. However, I don't know if there is racial tension despite of that. It's just across the river from NYC. Cheaper than Boston. It's walkable, 44% of the residents have college degree (according to the Census), winters are cold, but not as brutal as Boston. It seems to have a decent public transit system.
Basically, I'm looking for a city similar to Boston without the superiority complex, warmer people, no racial disproportion, better gay scene, and where Latinos are not so poor. Is that Jersey City? Am I unrealistic?
I sincerely appreciate comments, feedback and constructive criticism.
Quote:
Originally Posted by foodyum
I believe your point #2 about Latinos being poorer will hold true in JC also. There are neighborhoods that are not close to gentrifying.
I agree that Brooklyn would be a better move for you. Have you considered Atlanta? Or Austin?
OP would not like Atlanta or Austin based on why he's looking at Jersey City.
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